Chapter 565: Modified Body
"I’ve heard of Grandmaster Liang Sixian. The Static Water lineage is one of the Federation’s peak inheritances for water-elemental Heart Images."
Xu Wuyi looked at her. "Your Sound Wave Martial Arts, what are they capable of?"
He Yayin thought for a moment. "Area-of-effect spiritual interference, single-target piercing attacks, and... resonance destruction."
She raised her right hand, a metal ring spinning on her fingertip.
"If we coordinate well, I can make the mother nest’s outer shell resonate, breaking down its defenses from the inside. That would make it easier for you to destroy the core."
A flicker of interest showed in Xu Wuyi’s eyes.
’That’s a good idea.’
"We can try it."
...
An hour later, the team arrived at the target area.
This was a cluster of karst caves formed by a subterranean river. The ground was dotted with openings of various sizes. From deep below, the sound of the dark river echoed, hollow and vast.
He Yayin jumped out of the vehicle, half-knelt, and pressed her right hand to the ground.
A silvery-gray True Intention of Martial Arts spread from her palm, seeping into the earth like ripples on water.
A few seconds later, she stood up.
"Two mother nests. They’re eight hundred meters apart in a straight line, both at a depth of about fifty meters. The network of underground tunnels is complex and intersects with the subterranean river system."
She looked at Xu Wuyi. "I suggest we clear out the western one first. Its Energy Fluctuation is stronger, so it’s probably the main nest."
Xu Wuyi nodded. "We’ll stick to the plan. Captain He, get the perimeter team in position."
"Understood."
He Yayin waved, and four team members followed her, spreading out to occupy the surrounding high ground.
Tie Zhan and Lu Wenquan also moved into their respective positions.
Xu Wuyi led the remaining four team members toward the entrance of the western mother nest.
It was an opening about four meters in diameter. The edges bore traces of dried biological slime, and a foul, fishy stench washed over them.
"Martial Artist Xu, should we go down with you?" a team member asked.
"No need." Xu Wuyi shook his head. "You guard the entrance and clean up any xeno-bugs that escape."
"Yes, sir."
Xu Wuyi leaped into the cavern.
As he descended, he fully extended his Heart Image perception.
The structure of this nest was far more complex than any he had encountered before. Its tunnels branched out in every direction, and there were clear signs of artificial modification.
It wasn’t the natural construction of xeno-bugs, but... it had been altered by some intelligent species.
A chill went down Xu Wuyi’s spine.
’The Feathered People.’
’They really have been meddling here.’
He continued downward.
Thirty meters, forty meters, forty-five meters...
A dense skittering sound came from up ahead.
It wasn’t xeno-bugs, but some kind of creature with slenderer limbs and faster movement.
Xu Wuyi tightened his grip on his spear and slowed his descent.
He rounded a bend, and the sight before him made his pupils contract.
The tunnel was crammed with a dense swarm of dark red bugs.
They resembled the xeno-bugs but were smaller, only half a meter long. The ends of their limbs were not ordinary claws, but sharp Bone Blades.
Moreover, a faint glimmer of intelligence flickered in their compound eyes.
"Modified bodies..."
Xu Wuyi recalled a report from the research institute.
The Feathered Priest Corps had been trying to create controllable biological weapons. They would capture xeno-bugs, modify them, and implant simple control runes to turn them into semi-mechanical, semi-biological killing machines.
It seemed the Jialou squad was here for more than just hunting him.
They were also conducting field tests for their biological weapons.
The dark red swarm of modified bugs spotted Xu Wuyi.
There was no screeching, no chaos. They turned in unison, raising their Bone Blades with perfectly synchronized movements.
Then, they charged.
’Thirty percent faster than ordinary xeno-bugs!’
Xu Wuyi thrust his spear.
The spearpoint pierced the first modified bug’s head, but it didn’t die immediately. Its Bone Blade still swung forward.
Xu Wuyi sidestepped the attack and swept his spear’s shaft, knocking three of the modified bugs away.
But more bugs swarmed in.
The narrow tunnel restricted the use of his long spear. Xu Wuyi simply retracted his weapon and brought his hands together without them touching.
The Returning Ruins Seal formed, only half a meter to a side, but its suppressive Intention was so dense it was almost tangible.
He pushed the Seal Platform forward.
The air in the tunnel seemed to freeze.
The movements of the modified swarm halted for an instant.
Xu Wuyi seized the opportunity. He charged forward, his hands like blades, and precisely shattered the control core of bug after bug—the purple runic nodes located behind their heads.
Thirty seconds. The tunnel was clear.
Xu Wuyi continued his descent.
The farther down he went, the more modified bugs there were.
More advanced models began to appear as well—larger, with energy blades coating their Bone Blades. Some could even release simple Energy Shocks.
’The Feathered People’s bio-weapon technology is even more advanced than the Federation estimated.’
Xu Wuyi stopped holding back.
He continuously executed Water Drop.
Pinpoint-sized droplets of dark gold liquid traced deadly trajectories through the tunnel.
Each drop precisely pierced a modified bug’s control core, killing it in a single strike.
Five minutes later, Xu Wuyi reached the core of the nest.
The space here was larger than any he had seen before, over thirty meters in diameter.
The mother nest’s core floated in the center, its surface covered in a layer of dark purple biological armor, clearly a later addition by the Feathered People.
Surrounding the core stood twelve completely different modified creatures.
They were nearly two meters tall and stood upright in a humanoid form. Their upper limbs were two pairs of sharp Bone Blades, their lower limbs were digitigrade, and they had folded, membranous wings on their backs.
The light of intelligence in their compound eyes was even more pronounced.
Xu Wuyi stopped in his tracks.
’These can’t be called bugs anymore.’
’They are true biological weapons.’
"Human... Martial Artist..."
One of the humanoid modified creatures spoke from its mandibles in stilted Federation language.
Xu Wuyi’s gaze hardened.
"The Feathered People gave you the ability to speak?"
"Master... bestowed... evolution..." The humanoid creature raised its Bone Blades. "Kill... intruder..."
The twelve humanoid modified creatures moved at once.
Their speed was comparable to an Initial Stage Innate Martial Artist!
Their Bone Blades slashed through the air, creating a piercing shriek.
Xu Wuyi’s spear reappeared.
But this time, when the spearpoint collided with a Bone Blade, it actually produced sparks!
’The bone strength of these biological weapons is already close to that of an alloy.’
Xu Wuyi took half a step back, avoiding the combined attack of three Bone Blades.
’Even without being driven by Spiritual Power, the strength of these modified creatures is far inferior to a normal Innate Martial Artist, but they’re still noteworthy.’
He realized he couldn’t delay any longer.
With the mother nest core’s armor and these humanoid weapons guarding it, it would be difficult to break through quickly using conventional methods.
He had to use a stronger attack.
Xu Wuyi took a deep breath. In his sea of consciousness, the "breathing" of the great dark-gold marsh suddenly intensified.
Contract, compress, and compress again.
Not one drop of water.
But three.
They formed simultaneously, hovering above his left palm.
The humanoid modified creatures seemed to sense the danger and attacked with even greater frenzy.
Xu Wuyi parried with the spear in his right hand and pushed forward with his left.
Three Water Drops shot out in a triangular formation.
The first drop pierced the head of the foremost humanoid creature, shattering its control core.
The second drop hit the mother nest core’s armor, punching a fist-sized hole through it.
The third drop shot through the hole, precisely striking the control rune inside the core.
CRACK—
From within the dark purple armor came the sound of something shattering.